Speed-reducing friction-gearing.



No. 65|,4|0. Patented .Iune l2, moo;

' n.- E. BALL.

' SPEED REDUCING FRICTION GEABING.

(Application filed Jan. 30, 1899.)

(No Model.)

ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

ROYAL E. BALL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SPEED-REDUCING FRlCTlON-GEARING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 651,410, dated June12, 190 0.

Application filed January 30, 1899. Serial No. 703,766. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROYAL E. BALL, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York city, borough of Manhattan, county and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in SpeedReducing Friction-Gearing, of which the following is such a full, clear,and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to means for reducing the speed of mechanismactuated by a drive- I 5 shaft-for example, where a high-speedmotor-shaft is used for driving machines or a vehicle.

The chief object of my invention is to provide a simple and efficientfriction device for gearing down or reducing the speed; and to such endmy invention consists in the various novel and peculiar arrangements andcombinations of the several parts of the device, all as hereinafterfully described and then pointed out in the claims.

I have illustrated a type of my invention in the accompanying drawings,wherein- Figure 1 is a sectional View of a device embodying myinvention,the section being taken. 0 on a vertical plane extendinglongitudinally through the center of the drive-shaft. Fig. 2 is asectional View of the device, the plane of which is indicated by line 22, Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, in which like 5 numbers of reference indicatelike parts throughout, 2 is the motor or drive shaft from which motionis to be transmitted to the desired mechanism at a reduced speed. Thisshaft, which may be, for instance, that of an ordinary electric motor,is surrounded by a concentric rotary roller-cage, which in the presentinstance comprises a disk or member 3, arranged concentrically with thedriveshaft 2, at the outer end thereof, and provided 5 with a set ofinwardly-projecting studs 4 4,

which are fixed therein. These studs are set These rollers are set eachof the rollers by frictional contact with the periphery of the rollers,and their revolu- 6o tions in rolling around the drive-shaft and theouter stationary case 10 cause the frame or cage in which they aremounted to turn slowly'in the same direction as the shaft. The disk 3 ofthe roller-cage has connected with it a toothed gear 7, which consistsin a toothed ring secured in fixed position upon the periphery of thedisk 3, and the teeth of this gear mesh with a pinion 8, mounted on ashaft 9, so that the motion of the driveshaft 2 may be transmitted tothe shaft 9 at a much-reduced speed through the intermediary of theroller-cage. The roller-cage is provided with a bushing 10, fixed in thejournal-box 11. These parts are so arranged that the peripheries of therollers 5 are maintained in frictional contact with both the driveshaft2 and the interior of the bushing 10 when the drive-shaft is running.

While the invention contemplates the use of cylindrical tubular rollersof uniform diameter throughout, operating in conjunction with acylindrical portion of the drive-shaft, I propose, however, to form thetubular rollers like a truncated cone, so that the exterior thereoftapers gradually from one end to the other, and to give to the portionof the driveshaft adjacent the rollers a corresponding taper, so thatthe frustum-shaped rollers and part of the shaft have the same apexlength. Thus in the structure shown the outer end of the drive-shaft 2is tapered,beginning at point 13, to its outer end, the smaller end ofthe taper being at the outer end. The rollers 5, which are of the samediameter as the tapered 5 portion of the shaft at each point where theymake contact, are tapered and are disposed with their larger ends lyinginwardly, as shown in the drawings. The bushing 10 is formed with aninterior taper,with the smaller mo end of the taper lying outwardly. Inorder to set the tapered rollers at the proper angle, I incline the rodsor studs 4 slightly with reference to the axis of the roller-cage, andthereby cause the parts to run true.

In conjunction with the tapered rollers 5 of the roller-cage I arrangethe drive-shaft 2 so that it has capacity of endwise movement andprovide it with bearing 14, in which it may turn whenever the shaft isdrawn out from the roller-cage.

15 is a lever pivoted at 16 and provided with a circular bracket 17,encircling the driveshaft and carrying inwardly-projecting pins 18 atopposite points thereon, which take loosely into the annular groove 19,formed around the exterior of the collar 20, fixed upon the shaft. Bymeans of this lever the shaft may be shifted endwise, and normally thelever is drawn outwardly by a spring 21, so that it keeps the conicalend of the shaft jammed in the conical nest or set of rollers, so as tomake good frictional contact between such conical portion of the shaftand each of the rollers. The center of the outer end of the drive-shaft2 bears upon a slightly-raised center or boss 22,formed upon the innerface of the disk 3 when the shaft is forced into the rollercage, andthis materially assists in steadying the parts when in motion and at thesame time limits the distance that the drive-shaft can be forced intothe roller-cage.

By having the tubular rollers of the same exterior diameters as theportion of the shaft around which they roll each complete revolution ofa roller serves to carry such roller once around the shaft.

In regard to the ratio of the speed of the drive-shaft to the speed ofthe concentric or driven roller-cage I find that one is to the other asthe external diameter of the rollercage shaft is to the diameter of thedriveshaft. Expressed as a formula it is as follows: Speed of thedrive-shaft divided by the speed of the roller-cage equals the externaldiameter of the roller-cage divided by the diameter of the drive-shaft.For example, referring to Fig. 2, Where a b is the external diameter ofthe roller-cage and c d is the diameter of the drive-shaft, the quotientof the latter into the former will give the speed ratio between thedrive-shaft and the rollercage.

By virtue of this construction I am enabled to provide a very simple andeflicient speedreducing gear which is well adapted for use with electricmotors in reducing the speed thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. A speed-reducing friction-gear comprising the combination of anendwise-movable drive-shaft and means for moving the shaft endwise, saidshaft having a portion thereof tapered and being provided with a bearingin which it rests when the shaft is moved away from the roller-cage, arotary annular roller-cage provided with a set of rollers tapering inthe reverse direction to the taper of the shaft, a journal-boxconcentric with said drive shaft, said roller-cage being interposedbetween'said journal-box and driveshaft with its rollers in contacttherewith and adapted to engage with the tapered surface of said shaftwhen the shaft is moved endwise into the roller-cage, said roller-cagebeing provided with a gear member independent of said rollers, wherebythe motion of the drive-shaft may be transmitted to said gear member ata reduced speed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A speed-reducingfriction gear comprising the combination of adrive-shaft, a rotary annular roller-cage consisting in'a gear-wheel anda set of rods projecting from one face of the said gear-wheel andarranged in a circle thereon, a tubular roller loosely mounted on" eachof said rods, a journal-box concentric with said drive-shaft, said cagebeing placed over one end of said shaft with the rollers arranged inrolling contact between the journal-' box and the shaft, whereby themotion of the drive-shaft may be transmitted to said gear member at areduced speed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A speed-reducing friction-gear compris ing the combination of anendwise-movable drive-shaft and means for moving the shaft endwise, arotary annular roller-cage provided with a set of loosely-mountedrollers each having its axis in a plane containing the axis of thedrive-shaft, a journal-box concentric with said drive-shaft, saidroller-cage being interposed between said journal-box and drive-shaftwith its rollers in contact with the surface of each and being providedwith an end plate or disk against the inner face of which the end of thedrive-shaft is adapted to bear when moved endwise into the rollercage,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A speed-reducing friction-gear com prising the combination of anendwise-movable drive-shaft and means for moving the shaft endwise, saidshaft having its outer end tapered with the smaller part of the taperlying outwardly, and being provided with a bearing in which it restswhen the shaft is moved inwardly, a journal-box concentric with saiddrive-shaft and tapered in the same direction as the tapered portion ofthe shaft, a rollercage provided with a set of loosely-mounted rollerseach having its axis in a plane containing the axis of the drive-shaft,said rollers being tapered in the same direction as the tapered portionof the shaft and being interposed between the same and said journalboxso as to have a rolling contact with each of said parts, saidroller-cage being provided too with an end plate or disk against theinner my hand, this 26th day of January, 1899, in face of which the endof the drive-shaft is presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

adapted to bear when said shaft is moved into the roller-cage, said diskbeing provided ROYAL BALL 5 with a gear member, substantially as and forWVitnesses:

the purpose set forth. v H. WILLARD JOHNSON, In testimony whereof I havehereunto set WILL H. ARCHIBALD.

